Members of the criminal organization in September 2021, through threats and as a result of forging official documents, seized the territory of one of the mines in the Donetsk region for the illegal extraction of coal. They did not have any special permits. They sold coal through a number of enterprises to the public and budget organizations. One of the active participants in the criminal organization turned out to be the head of the local village council. He is currently wanted.

Under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General, the State Bureau of Investigations has completed the pre-trial investigation. The investigation established that from 2021 to 2024, the criminal organization was engaged in the illegal extraction and sale of coal in the temporarily occupied Donetsk, causing the state losses of over 5 billion hryvnias.

Nine members of the criminal organization are suspected of creating and leading the criminal organization, as well as participating in it, obstructing lawful economic activities, forging and using forged documents, illegal extraction of minerals, and legalizing property obtained through criminal means (parts 1-3 of Article 255, part 3 of Article 206, parts 3, 4 of Article 358, part 3 of Article 240, part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The pre-trial investigation was conducted by investigators of the State Bureau of Investigations with operational support from the units of this agency.

Note: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.